SEMCOG approves $1 billion I-75 widening project for Oakland County

The Oakland Press/RYAN FELTON
Two individuals against the proposed widening of I-75 and I-94 dressed in a horse outfit to depict the "Trojan Horse" of the freeways protest outside the Antheneum Hotel before the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments votes at its annual general assembly.

DETROIT -- The Southeastern Michigan Council of Government approved a long-term transportation policy initiative that includes a controversial $1 billion widening of I-75 in Oakland County.

Dozens of protesters converged in at the Atheneum Suite Hotel to speak out against the planning agency's long-term transportation plan that also calls for widening a busy stretch of I-94 in Detroit.

The executive committee approved the plan at its annual general assembly Tuesday evening.

Both plans have been in discussion for years and faced criticism from opponents who call it a bureaucratic boondoggle that would fit the picture of a transportation model in the 1960s and would fail to achieve its main motive of easing congestion.

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Public comment at the beginning of the meeting focused heavily on the massive undertaking. If executed, plans suggest the roadways would be under construction well into next decade.

Richard Murphy of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance praised the plan for the most part, but referred to the widening projects as "the thorn on the rose."

"The harms are clear and have a direct impact on the communities that oppose these projects," Murhpy said.

In recent days the city councils of Hazel Park, Ferndale and Detroit have adopted resolutions stating their opposition to the projects.

The proposals to widen the roadways, part of a laundry list of roadwork SEMCOG has included in its 2040 Regional Transportation Plan, would cost about $2.7 billion, most of which would be covered by federal funding.

SEMCOG is required to take a vote on the plan in order to be eligible to receive funding from the state and federal governments.

In particular, the widening of I-75 from 8 Mile Road to M-59 -- one lane in each direction -- has been a prerogative of Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson for years, as he's butted heads with officials and public transportation advocates over the project's intended purpose -- primarily to lessen the level of congestion.

In 2004, Patterson told The Associated Press: "We can't siphon off one dime to fund some noble experiment in mass transit."

The project is under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of Transportation, which would handle construction.

"(The I-75 widening project) is heavily a rebuild project," said Paul Tait, SEMCOG's executive director. "The pavement needs to get improved, and while you're doing that, it's very cost effective if you have a lot of congestion to do widening at the same time."

Motorists who typically use that section of I-75 may be alarmed by the proposed timeline for the project outlined in the planning agency's 2040 plan.

It would commence sometime in 2021 and wrap up around 2035, based on the database of projects SEMCOG included in the long-term plan. But officials said they'd like to see initial construction underway within the next couple of years.

The longer time-frame outlined in the agency's plan is dictated by how it plans to spend the $34 billion of funds that SEMCOG predicts will be available. So, they can't jump the gun unless they know it's a certainty.

But is it reasonable to litter one of the busiest corridors in the region with orange barrels for over a decade?

"It's not ideal to do it over that period of time," said Carmine Palombo, director of transportation for SEMCOG.

If a significant amount of state and federal funding is found, though, the time frame of the project would be shortened significantly, Palombo said.

But a widely studied phenomenon known as "induced demand" offers a contrary outcome to what the I-75 widening project seeks to alleviate most: congestion.

Megan Owens, executive director of Detroit-based nonprofit Transportation Riders United, summarized the idea: "If there's more space on the highway, it tends to get filled up.

Also, the number of miles people are driving is not going up, she said.

Tait said critics of widening proposals are typically public transportation boosters.

"We certainly would want to get more transit in the plan," he said. "We're constrained. We can only show projects in the plan (for which) we can identify a likely source of money."

Furthermore, Tait said grant money for roadway renovations can't easily be transferred to projects supporting construction of public transportation systems, such as Bus Rapid Transit, a proposal being considered in southeast Michigan.

"If we don't do (the I-75 widening) project, that doesn't automatically mean, at all, that we can transfer that money to transit," Tait said. "That means it goes to a different road project.

"The money unfortunately comes in silos," he added. "We have a very limited ability to move from one pot to another."

Tait made the point to counter critics' arguments that, if road widening projects aren't pursued, a light rail system, for example, could be built from Detroit to Pontiac.

"I recognize it's not directly transferable," she said. But "the federal government does allow for more flexibility than our region recognizes."

Regardless, the push for widening I-75 and I-94 is "really is a depiction of values for the region," Owens said. "The fact they say we can't afford to invest in more transit, yet we have to spend (money on widening I-75) shows they're not serious about commitment to transit."

She said there have been studies that show within five years that most every mile of new lane is filled up.

Owens said: "We will have years of construction headache and very little benefit for commuters."